Mistakes We Knew We Were Making
by jchaining
Summary: Where S3 goes from the sneak peek. Castle knows he loves Kate Beckett, but as he thinks she's moved on he tried to as well. When he's reunited with her though, Kate is hurt by the way Castle left things, and Ryan and Esposito are torn btwn friends.


"Richard Castle, you are under arrest for murder."

It took Castle a second to come to terms with what was happening as Kate cuffed his hands behind his back. This is not how he wanted to see her again. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her. He wanted to tell her that it was over between him and his ex. When he first saw Kate after 3 months without her, he so badly wanted to just kiss her. Or at least just give her a hug hello.

Instead there they were. Beckett, Ryan and Esposito were treating him like, as Ryan so elegantly put it, a "Scumbag". After the initial shock of their bursting into the room settled in, Richard Castle finally spoke.

"Nice to see you guys too!" He spoke slightly bitterly, and he laughed through it as if Beckett was simply playing a prank. Beckett, however, didn't laugh at all. "Wish it was..." The seriousness of the situation began to sink in for Castle as his 3 friends kept their guns on him.

"Christ guys its for the book!"

"Killed someone for your story did you Castle?" He couldn't believe Kate would ever think him capable of something so terrible. He had helped Backett find her mother's killer hadn't he? He had followed this team around from case to case, and now, after all they had been through, he was nothing to them. What had he ever done that could have made them hate him so much?

As Kate spun him and began to read him his rights around he spoke quickly, "I got permission to use a body from the morgue! I placed her here to set up a scene for my story, HENCE why I have a gun! Call the captain, he'll tell you, my god guys..."

"Esposito..." Kate still held her gun on Castle as he dialed. Castle stared at Kate in disbelief "Are you kidding me right now Beckett?"

"We just found you at the scene of a murder with a gun... I'm just doing my job." In the background, Esposito is talking on the phone and Ryan is holding his gun on Castle.

"I know you're doing your job, but its me guys..."

"You know Castle we might not know you as well as we think." That stabbed Castle right in the heart. Kate said it so dispassionately, so un-caring, and it made Castle stare coldly into her eyes as he spoke.

"Kate, more than most people in this world... you know me." At this, Kate stared right back at him and a flash of remorse swept over her face. In the background, Esposito hangs up the phone and confirms, "Castle's telling the truth, the morgue gave him permission to use the body." Ryan is the first to speak.

"Akward..."

Kate completely drops her guard and, refusing to admit her mistake, shurgs and simply says, "Oh...oops" and un-cuffs him.

"OH?" Castle cries in disbelief. "And you," Castle points to Ryan, "Scumbag! Seriously!"

"Sorry man, in the moment... it was my bad."

"Let's go guys." When she said this, Esposito and Ryan sort of hung back, looking from a straight faced Kate to a shocked Castle, not knowing whether to follow her or stay and apologize to their old friend. "NOW boys..."

Ryan and Esposito simultaneously murmer "Yes ma'am..." and leave the room without a word to Castle.

Castle stares in disbelief as they leace. How could they think that- and when they knew they were wrong how could they just leave? As Kate turns to follow the guys out the door, she turns her head towards Castle, who stands there with his hands up as if the is waiting for an explanation from her.

"Sorry to disrupt you Mr. Castle..." And with that, she leaves the room without looking back. Castle just stands there in the dark in shock for a moment, then turns towards the corpse on the bed and asks, "Should i go after her? I mean, they owe me an explanation right?" The corpse lays there, as motionless as when Castle placed her... Disatisfied with this lack of response, Castle angrily cries out, "Oh what do you know?" into the corpse's unmoving face as he runs out into the foyer, calling after Beckett and the guys.

...


End file.
